Post Date: 05/05/08

If you're tired of getting coffee from the same ole' Starbucks around the corner, it's time to shake things up. Check out Cafe con Leche, a mother-daughter owned Latin-infused cafe that's part Mexican bakery meets hip coffeehouse meets boutique. Located in downtown Fullerton, Cafe con Leche is a fusion of many of my favorite things. From the brightly painted yellow walls to the concrete counter tops to the hand painted Dia de Los Muertos candles, everything in this place has been thoughtfully placed to create a cozy, unique, and artistic atmosphere.

What I also love about the place is its communal vibe. The boutique items, like handmade bracelets, wallets, and my personal favorite, skull candles, are placed on open shelves inviting and encouraging cafe participants to look, explore and feel.

Another item on my "favorite things list": a unique take on food and coffee. So far, Cafe con Leche serves quick but delicious take-away items such Jalapeno bread (a roll stuffed with cream cheese and slices of Jalapeno, a local favorite), pan de leche (sweet bread), and my favorite because of its name, ojos del toro (literally eyes of the bull, if you get a chance to see it you'll know what I mean) which is a bread pastry, dipped in jam and rolled in coconut flakes.

Also, they serve tamales: red-sauce pork or green-sauce chicken which automatically makes me one happy camper because where else can I order a tamale that's really good, at a cafe? For dessert connoisseurs, chocoflan (flan atop chocolate cake), tres leches cake and flan are also available for glorious consumption.

The last but not least: flavorful coffee. The Mexi-Mocha, a blend of Mexican chocolate with spices and mocha is so delicious that within one sip I not only offered it to my friend, but also the girl sitting at the table next to us (she declined, quite obviously). Other unique favorites are the OC Blend (an orange juice and vanilla blend, that tastes like a 50/50 bar) and Ojo Rojo literally translated "red eyes" which is a shot of espresso with a shot of drip coffee designed to keep you wide-awake. They also offer two different types of unique coffee. One imported from Mexico as a regular drip coffee and the other, called Echo, which is incorporated in many of the flavored drinks.

All these elements, plus the inviting atmosphere that this mother-daughter team creates once you enter into the door has made this my new go-to coffee place. If you're in town or live around Fullerton, check this place out and make sure you eat something good and tell me.



Cafe con Leche
126 W. Wilshire #A
Fullerton, CA 92832

Labels: coffee, goodeats, ShoutsOfAdoration

Awhile ago, I posted about burgers comparing some of the finest that I've tasted in my short twenty some odd years of life (see August 11, 2007 entry). However, the times, they are achanging, and there's a new place in town, called The Counter. While it has not completely won my heart over (mostly because burgers start at about $8.50)they have an interesting concept.

In short, it's burgers, done the way you like 'em, exactly how you like 'em. For indecisive people this is hell. For the pickiest people this is heaven.

Here's how the menu works: you receive a clipboard listing the types of patties: (beef, veggie, turkey, chicken), in the lb. amounts you want (1/3 lb., 2/3 lb, 1 lb). THEN here comes the fun part, you get to pick what cheese you want: (feta, gruyere, american, goat cheese spread, etc.) AND THEN four toppings, ranging from grilled onions, to hardboiled eggs, to sauteed mushrooms. My favorite thing is the sauce options: BBQ sauce, roasted garlic aoli (hello? yum) , peppercorn steak sauce, soy ginger glaze.

If you're totally confused, this is what I'm talking about.

I ended up getting a beef patty on a bed of lettuce, with gruyere, grilled onions, some other toppings and such and it came out to $9.50. Pretty pricey in my opinon. While it tasted pretty good it wasn't amazing enough for me to do this often. The sweet potato fries, however, were amazing, and had I been able to eat a bucketload of fries I would have eaten them all.

In short: great, interesting place to take friends (they also serve beer)
Catch: kinda pricey/nicer than just-a-grab-a-burger-joint like In-n-Out

The Counter (locations)
Locations in Santa Monica, Corona, Irvine, Palo Alto
Also Texas and Florida

Labels: goodeats, ShoutsOfAdoration

Until quite recently, I was a fondue virgin. Sure, I'd melted cheddar and chocolate chips over the stove at home, but that, as I now know, is the stuff of amateurs.

So, while in NYC over the holidays, I had my very first fondue restaurant experience at a cozy little place called The Bourgeois Pig in the East Village. I stumbled across it by the fortuitous combination of a stubborn cheese craving and the fact that the nearest Melting Pot was over the river and through the woods in Hoboken, NJ.

Lucky me, because the Bourgeois Pig was fantastic.

The prices were reasonable, the wait staff was friendly, and the fondues, which came with enough bread, fresh fruit, crudites, tangy gherkin pickles and rosemary-roasted potatoes for two, were nothing less than superb. I do feel obliged to mention to you carnivores out there that there was no meat to be found anywhere on the menu. But with the array of delectable fondues, appetizers and drinks, however, it's likely you won't even notice.

My favorite was the blue cheese fondue with honey, and I might point out that I don't normally care for blue cheese. But add honey, and the result is a delightful amalgam of flavors with just the right touch of sweetness. The other cheese fondues we tried were equally yummy, and the decadent dark chocolate one that topped off the meal left my taste buds happily dancing the cha-cha.

Verdict: If you won't miss the meat, you might think this place a dream. And bring a date--with the candlelit interior and plush, mismatched chairs, the ambience is perfect for an intimate rendezvous.

The Bourgeois Pig
111 E. 7th St. (between 1st Ave. & Ave. A)
New York, NY 10009

Posted by: PecanPieOhMy
Post Date: 4/10/08
*picture courtesy of New York magazine, Michelle Hom

Labels: goodeats, ShoutsOfAdoration